In spending time with relatives and friends who are Christian,
I notice two serious matters. One is that others are quicker to be positive and
filled with praise than I am. And two, I am quicker to find fault with others
than they are. While we are not to compare ourselves with others, this is God convicting
me to examine myself.
The devotional verse for today hints at this problem, as
does one of its cross references.
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. (Proverbs 16:32)
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. (Proverbs 25:28)
The author of the reading says, “More dear in the sight
of God and His angels than any other conquest is the conquest of self, which
each man, with the help of Heaven, can secure for himself.”
As I consider this and other verses and spiritual material,
one article suggested that I pick one thing that stands out as a problem in my
own life and focus on solving it. I selected discernment or judgment, which for
me is a gift from God, but easily turns to a critical spirit. Discernment is
important and given to Christians with the intent we use it to understand problems,
issues, and the will of God concerning them. We need discernment to speak to
needs (including my own) and to pray for others.
However, the abuse of discernment is letting the flesh
run with it — by being harsh, critical, and demanding. It is using wrongly what God reveals
as a problem to pray for, using it as a topic for gossip or tearing down someone
else so I will look better than they do. This is the kind of “judgment” that Jesus
forbids when He says,
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1–2)
The rest of this passage says judgment is okay, but we
first must have our own lives free from whatever faults we see in others. The
idea of not judging until our own lives are in order runs contrary to that
fleshy tendency to point out faults in those around us.
As Jesus says, the things I criticize most in others can
be the very things of which I myself am guilty. I don’t like these sins and
failures in me and seeing them in others reminds me of them. But instead of
dealing with them in my own life, I focus my attention in the other direction. If
I can keep my attention on someone else, I think I can avoid pressure on myself
to change.
This is human pride, a large problem in the concept of
self-control. If I am to rule my own spirit, then I need to engage in honest
self-criticism. Whenever I am tempted to “discern a flaw” in someone else, I should
first ask God to show me one of my own.
Search me O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24, KJV).
God shows me important steps toward self-control in the
area of prideful discernment.
Forgiveness. If I am honest with myself, I know how
proud, selfish, spiteful, jealous, inconsiderate and inept I can be. What right
do I have to be intolerant or impatient with others? Am I harboring the foolish
notion that I am perfect and have never needed mercy and forgiveness myself?
Look in the mirror. When I read the Word of God, apply it
to myself — not just “first to me” but only to me.
Check my altitude. Am I doing things that most other Christians
avoid? Does this indicate that I think myself stronger and less apt to fall
into temptation, as if I am some super saint? Be real; fly lower.
What about my eulogy? When I near death, will I have pleasant
memories of the way I have lived? Or will I be filled with sorrow and regret?
What do others say? Pay attention to any criticism or
accusations. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses
of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6). Even if my enemies accuse me, the best response
is to reflect and consider whether I am guilty of any charges against me.
Use others as a mirror. Nothing is more common than for
proud people to accuse others of pride. When I discern others’ faults,
immediately consider that I most likely have the same shortfall in my own life.
Remember the power of spiritual blindness. I know people
can be proud, worldly, envious and unfriendly without knowing they are like
that. Since I am a “people” I need to realize that others may see me more
clearly than I see myself. Again, I need God to search my heart, particularly
when I’m “discerning” the heart of another. If this discernment, He also gives
a protocol for using it…
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
If I don’t follow His protocol by first dealing with my
own sin, then I too need restoration because I also have fallen into
temptation.
Father, You have been showing me that I’ve allowed my ADD
to keep me from staying with the lessons You have taught me. Instead of popping
to the next thing as I usually do, I want You to work on this issue of pride in
discernment until You have developed in me that self-control over my spirit
that You value. Whatever it takes.
1 comment:
May I add a hearty "Amen!?" This is the very issue I struggle the most with. The biggest "plank" in my eye, if you will. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my struggle, and that other believers are growing in some of the same areas I am growing.
Stumbled on your blog looking for an illustration for one of my posts.
I'll be back to read more - and perhaps we can encourage one another in our faith.
Grace & Peace,
Tiffany
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